The Follow-Through: Brash Reed makes statement to PGA

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Patrick Reed is pretty good at golf, and he's not afraid to let people know about it.

After collecting his third PGA Tour title since August at last week's WGC- Cadillac Championship, Reed put the tour on notice about how he feels about himself.

"I believe in myself, I believe I'm among the top five players in the world. To come out in a field like this and hold on wire-to-wire like that, I feel like I've proven myself," Reed said soon after 2-putting for a bogey and the win at Doral on Sunday.

"I won a lot in junior career, did great things in amateur career, was 6-0 in match play at NCAAs, won NCAAs two years in a row, got third individually one year, and now I have three wins out here on the PGA Tour."

Not exactly a Richard Sherman-esque rant, but definitely more boastful than we are used to hearing on a golf course. They are especially some strong words from a guy who has yet to even appear in a major.

We are used to hearing the same cookie-cutter answers about how a player's putts were just going in that day, so I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing for Reed to mix it up a little.

He's not being disrespectful to anyone. He's just showing an extreme amount of confidence in his game right now and how could you argue with him at the moment?

This is a guy who was ranked as high as 586th in the world in 2012 prior to his run of victories.

I guess you also can make such statements after becoming youngest-ever player to win a WGC event at 23, joining Rory McIlroy as the current players with at least three PGA Tour wins under the age of 25 in the process.

When asked at his post-tournament press conference who he thought the other top-four players were aside from himself, Reed said "Tiger Woods, of course ... Adam Scott is definitely a great player. You know, still in my eyes, Phil (Mickelson) is one of the top three for sure. And you know, I mean, it just seems like every time I play with Graeme McDowell, he surprises me. He does everything really solid."

Reed also added Dustin Johnson to the mix. He is the only player Reed named not to have won a major.

Reed will get the chance to join that group next month when he makes his first visit to Augusta for the Masters.

There is no doubt Reed will be one of the players mentioned as a favorite to earn the green jacket that week. The only question is whether the pressure of those expectations will affect his game.

But that is one place where his youth and brashness could help him.

There is something to being just 23 and believing you are one of the best in your profession.

You can just head to the office -- or in his case, the course -- and do your thing without outside sources weighing on you. What 23-year-old really listens to his detractors anyway?

If Reed is able to come out on top at the end of Masters week, then he would really start to get mentioned with one of the best players in the game and his comments would become an afterthought.

He would no longer be thought of the young player on a hot streak, but a true threat to the established players on tour.